Instrument cable to connect head to cab

J

JohnyElSucio

New member
Hello everyone, i feel like the dumbest person on earth, i just discovered that you shouldnt connect your head to cab with an instrument cable, i have been playing for almost 15 years and didnt knew it. Im buying some speaker cables on Amazon right now.

The thing is, is it possible that my amps are already damaged for being using them like that? Ive never heard any wrong sound or any failure that i could recognize from any of them. At least thats what i think.
 
Re: Instrument cable to connect head to cab

Possibly.

Get a short (5' or less) two conductor cable, preferably 12-gauge or bigger. (The bigger the number, the smaller the wire. You want FAT wires! I never use less than 14-gauge for my amps or PA cabs.)

Oh...you know this applies to your PA cabs too, right? Two- conductor speaker cable. Unless you have power speakers....etc.

You don't have to spend a lot. I like the Live Wires and Live Wires Elite cables from GC. Bob at Eurotubes has some great cables, as does Andy at Pro Guitar Shop. Monster, RAPCO, Pig Hog...lots to choose from. But buy HIGH QUALITY cables, and baby them. NEVER, NEVER disconnect by yanking on the cord! Always pull on the plug. Yanking on the wire can short your cable...and then you WILL have an expensive repair bill.

In a pinch, you can use standard lamp cord, commonly referred to as zip cord. It usually comes in 18 or 16 gauge. I once needed a speaker cord...in a hurry. I was playing in a small town, it was late, and the only shop open was a vacuum cleaner shop. I bought a replacement vacuum cord, and got it soldered up with five minutes to spare. Whew!

The good news...with a proper speaker cord, your amp may sound better than ever!

Good luck!

Bill

And congrats...you are no longer the dumbest person on earth! Yea! :)

We all went through learning this stuff. Enjoy the journey!

Bill
 
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Re: Instrument cable to connect head to cab

I think most people selling you HQ speaker cables are just ripping you off. If you think basic home or car stereo, almost any wire of decent gauge works. No problems with sound quality or any interference (which is issue of low-level lines). I don't see why guitar lines should be any different; except of course required ruggedness, as broken cable may damage your amp.

Instrument cables of course are entirely different thing and shouldn't be used for speakers.
 
Re: Instrument cable to connect head to cab

JohnyElSucio said:
Hello everyone, i feel like the dumbest person on earth, i just discovered that you shouldnt connect your head to cab with an instrument cable, i have been playing for almost 15 years and didnt knew it. Im buying some speaker cables on Amazon right now.

The thing is, is it possible that my amps are already damaged for being using them like that? Ive never heard any wrong sound or any failure that i could recognize from any of them. At least thats what i think.
Click to expand...

Go easy on yourself, brother - it's a more common mistake than you may think. You now have the responsibility to teach this one thing whenever you get the opportunity [emoji1]


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
Re: Instrument cable to connect head to cab

Yeah, with a proper cord, it will certainly sound better. What amp is this? And what volume do you usually play at? In some amps, this might not do any damage at a lower volume.

I did find this article which explains the difference pretty well.
 
Re: Instrument cable to connect head to cab

Probably a lot of people that do that, as well as run their amps at the wrong impedance for the cab used.
 
Re: Instrument cable to connect head to cab

Don't feel bad, I ran my amp with a short instrument cable for a couple Decades!
I recently updated to 12-gauge speaker cable and rewired my cabinet's internal wires as well. I hear no difference at all. But I did it all for cheap (local car stereo shop GAVE me the wire, I just bought a couple plug ends) and at least now I don't feel dumb for doing it wrong anymore.
 
Re: Instrument cable to connect head to cab

I don't understand why they don't make the cables a totally different size/connection so people don't fall into this trap.
 
Re: Instrument cable to connect head to cab

Wolfshead said:
I don't understand why they don't make the cables a totally different size/connection so people don't fall into this trap.
Click to expand...

Speakon is an option. I like Speakon myself but the connector size isn't convenient for input dishes with mono-stereo / multiple impedance options. I think the industry just figures that a little education (or thought) is easier (and cheaper) than creating a new standard.
 
Re: Instrument cable to connect head to cab

Wolfshead said:
I don't understand why they don't make the cables a totally different size/connection so people don't fall into this trap.
Click to expand...

Because they expect you to be somewhat competent. Also, you can always use an instrument cable in a pinch. It's kinda nice vs speakon where you can just be totally ****ed.
 
Re: Instrument cable to connect head to cab

These are nice if you don't need stereo or multi-impedance jacks. Speakon or 1/4" ...
D0949-12-02.jpg
 
Re: Instrument cable to connect head to cab

Watch the "lamp cord" stuff though - a local guy snatched the cable off a cheap lamp and ran it into 100w head and a 4x12 wide open. It was one of those see-thru type cords where you can see the wire. The wire glowed. And then melted. And then set the carpet on fire.

Just spend the money for speaker cable and be done with it. Get a spare or two, and ignore the MacGyvering.
 
Re: Instrument cable to connect head to cab

Seriously? It melted?? I can't see how it would - it ought to have been what, probably 16 gauge or so?
Not saying it's not true, just literally expressing my surprise.
 
Re: Instrument cable to connect head to cab

You likely haven't done any damage. The biggest risk is the instrument cable melting the insulation and shorting itself and the output transformer.

But you would definitely know if this had happened haha.
 
Re: Instrument cable to connect head to cab

DrNewcenstein said:
Watch the "lamp cord" stuff though - a local guy snatched the cable off a cheap lamp and ran it into 100w head and a 4x12 wide open. It was one of those see-thru type cords where you can see the wire. The wire glowed. And then melted. And then set the carpet on fire.

Just spend the money for speaker cable and be done with it. Get a spare or two, and ignore the MacGyvering.
Click to expand...

Speaker wire and lamp cord are the same thing. If you saw a meltdown it wasn't because of the "speaker wire". 22 gauge wire will handle the most fire breathing marshall amp ever made.
 
Re: Instrument cable to connect head to cab

Kamanda~SD said:
Because they expect you to be somewhat competent. Also, you can always use an instrument cable in a pinch. It's kinda nice vs speakon where you can just be totally ****ed.
Click to expand...

Most men don't do instruction manuals though. They get something, look at the size of the connectors, and stick in whatever cable fits. :bigok:
 
Re: Instrument cable to connect head to cab

SlyFoxx said:
Speaker wire and lamp cord are the same thing. If you saw a meltdown it wasn't because of the "speaker wire". 22 gauge wire will handle the most fire breathing marshall amp ever made.
Click to expand...

Can be. But proper speaker wire has two independently insulated conductors inside an outer jacket. Lamp cord is made to handle line voltage, and zip-cord "speaker wire" might not be. I've seen zip-cord with a manufacturing defect short itself internally and melt in a car stereo application. Ever since then I have used jacketed speaker cable, regardless of gauge. I don't trust the insulation of a molded parallel cable unless it's really lamp cord.
 
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